OUTGOING International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Juan Antonio Samaranch on Thursday called for more African members to be elected to the body and urged the continent to make another Olympic bid. Speaking at the end of the Associations of National Olympic Committees of Africa (Anoca) general assembly, Samaranch also urged his successor to support Africa in any bid to host the continent’s first Olympic Games. ”There are fewer Africans now after the suspensions and retirements (following the Salt Lake City scandal) and this imbalance will have to be corrected for the continent to be well represented in the IOC,” Samaranch told a news conference. African delegates were among the 10 members who were forced to leave the IOC in 1999 for breaking rules on accepting gifts from Salt Lake City during its successful bid for the 2002 Winter Games. – Reuters
Thursday June 14, 2001